Health Minister Christine Elliott says the Ford government is willing to negotiate with optometrists, but it won’t give them a blank cheque.
Eye doctors across the province withdrew services a month ago for OHIP-funded services to seniors, children, and those on disability.
They argue that the money paid by the province has fallen so far behind the times that they’re absorbing 45 per cent of the costs of such eye exams.
Elliott says they’ve already committed to a 39-million-dollar payment to cover past shortfalls, and will increase future fees by 8.5 per cent.
But the optometrists say that will still leave them 30 to 35 dollars in the hole for each exam they do.